The Road to Ruin
by Misha
Summary: Before the triple threat match with Triple H and Chris Jericho, Stephanie McMahon reflects on the end of her marriage and thinks back to the beginning of it all...
1. Prologue The End of An Era

The Road to Ruin  
By Michelle McKague

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the characters of the story, it all belongs to someone else. I'm not making any money off this, so please don't sue me.

Author's Note- After watching the Feb. 16th episode of Raw when Triple H ran down to save Stephanie, I started wondering about how they'd explain it story line wise. I know that Stephanie McMahon and Paul Levesque are married in real life, but this story focuses on the story line and their on-screen personas. So I started "The Road to Redemption" to explain that, but then I realized I wanted to go further, figure out how they fell in love in the first place and how they fell apart, the stuff that wasn't covered on TV, so this story was born. I'm starting this and "The Road to Redemption" at the same time, because to me there basically the same story. This is how Hunter and Stephanie came together and how they fell apart, "The Road to Redemption" story is about how they found their way back together. For me, I see this one more as Stephanie's story and "The Road to Redemption" more as Hunter's and that's how I'm writing it. They don't ever really intersect, this story will end months before "The Road to Redemption" starts, but they're part of the same story and are meant to be read as a whole--or they will be once they're done. I wasn't really watching wrestling back then, so I'm relying on YouTube clips to tell me what happened and when they happend, so some things might be slightly different. I'm also making up my own interpetation of the plot, since that's sort of the poitn of fanfiction. This is just how I think things happened and my version of the characters thoughts and motivations. That's all for now, enjoy!

Pairings- Stephanie McMahon/Hunter Heart Helmsley.

Summery- Before the triple threat match with Triple H and Chris Jericho, Stephanie McMahon reflects on the end of her marriage and thinks back to the beginning of it all...

Rating- PG-13

* * *

Prologue: The End of an Era

_March 2002_

Stephanie McMahon stood in her dressing room, attempting to finish getting ready for that night's Raw.

She was almost there, at least physically. Emotionally was another story. Emotionally, she was nowhere near ready for what was going to happen tonight.

Stephanie let out a loud sigh and buried her head in her hands, fighting back the tears that had been threatening for weeks. She wanted to treat this like any other night, but she couldn't do it.

Because it wasn't any other night, this was the end--the last stand of the McMahon-Helmsley era. In a few minutes she'd go out and face Hunter and that'd be it, it'd be the end of them, the last chapter of their story.

Regardless of how the mach ended, after tonight the McMahon-Helmsley era would be officially over and so would her relationship with Hunter. Whoever won, whoever lost, well... It didn't matter, not really.

Stephanie knew that she'd already lost, that they both had, even if Hunter didn't see it that way. After all, they'd already lost each other, lost that special connection that they'd shared. It seemed stranger to think that it could have all fallen apart so badly, that she and Hunter could have been reduced to this when once they'd had it all.

Yet, in only two and half years, her marriage had fallen apart beyond repair and the love had turned to hate. Yes, Stephanie hated Hunter, because she had to to survive. Hating him was the only way she could make herself stop loving him.

She wanted to destroy him tonight, to make him pay because she'd already been destroyed, had already paid for her numerous sins. The sad thing was, everything she'd done, she'd done to hold onto Hunter and to their love, but it'd been too late.

In the end, her attempts to save them had just sped up their destruction and before she'd known what was happening, it was all over; _they_ were over.

In many ways, Stephanie considered that night's match meaningless. Win or lose, she wasn't going to get her husband back and that was what really mattered.

Yes, if Hunter pinned her she'd have to leave the company and that would suck, but... Even if that happened, she'd find a way around it. She was a McMahon and she was resourceful, she'd find her way back into the business, that didn't worry her.

Besides, being kicked out of the family business was nothing compared to what she'd already lost. Her marriage meant a whole lot more to her than her career, even if it didn't always seem like it.

Stephanie sighed loudly. She knew most people wouldn't believe it, but she'd loved Hunter with all her heart and being his wife... Well those had been the happiest days of her life.

It wasn't supposed to end like this. She and Hunter, they were supposed to be a team, they were supposed to have each other's backs, always. They weren't supposed to be fighting each other and she wasn't supposed to be aligned against him with Jericho of all people. Most of all, they weren't supposed to be divorced.

Stephanie cast a mournful look down at her bare hands, a sight that still unnerved her. It still felt strange to not be wearing her ring, she still missed the weight against her finger. Most of all, she missed what it represented.

Taking off her ring had been one of the hardest things she'd ever done in her entire life, because it meant accept that her marriage was over. Hunter had placed that ring on her finger with a promise of forever, a promise that she still believed that they had both meant to uphold.

Yet, here she was a mere two and a half years later, ringless, left mourning broken promises and an equally broken marriage.

Stephanie sighed loudly, wondering how it all could have come to this. She and Hunter they'd had it all once. She wasn't just talking about business, about how they had controlled the company together and done it all their way, though the McMahon-Helmsley era **had** been spectacular while it had lasted. But in the end, it was just business and that was meaningless.

No, when she thought about how they'd had it all, she was referring to their personal life. She and Hunter, they'd been so crazy in love, but more than that they'd been friends as well as well as lovers and both the friendship and the lovemaking had been amazing.

Stephanie had never known how amazing a relationship could truly be until she'd met Hunter, hadn't known that two people could complete each other like they had.

They'd been each other's perfect match in every way, which is why she didn't understand how it had all gone so wrong, how they'd ended up the way they had. After all, it had been so perfect once and then, in the blink of an eye, it was all gone. One moment they'd had it all, the next it had all fallen apart, never to be put back together again.

It was funny, really, how quickly things could go wrong, how they could fall apart before you even realized there was a problem, especially something that had once been so beautiful...

For a moment Stephanie let herself forget about the present, about her bitter feud with Hunter and ramifications of that night's match and let herself be swept away by the memories.

Stephanie closed her eyes and remember how it had all begun between her and Hunter and how sweet it had been, back then...

* * *


	2. Chapter One: Taking Charge

The Road to Ruin  
By Misha

_Disclaimer and Notes in Prologue.  
_  
Chapter One: Taking a Chance

_January 1999_

"So your father wants you to come work for his company?" Rachel Jackson asked wrinkling her nose even as she down her rum and coke. "All those sweaty wrestlers? No thanks."

"Hey, speak for yourself, I think that part sounds like fun, can I come?" Savannah Brock asked with a coy grin.

"I have to say, Rachel, I'm with Savannah. Steph, can I come too?" Elizabeth Ainsworth asked, making puppy dog eyes.

Stephanie rolled her eyes at her three closest friends. "How about you two go instead of me?" She suggested, then sighed. "I don't know what my father's up to, but after these last few months of me working at the head office, he's decided I should come on the road with them instead. Crazy, huh?"

"I think it sounds like a blast." Savannah told her.

Elizabeth nodded in agreement. "Totally, c'mon think about all those sexy men, aren't there any you'd like to get to know better?"

Stephanie blushed, but stayed silent.

"There is!" Savannah said immediately.

"Spill sister." Rachel demanded.

Stephanie sighed. "I guess there's this one guy who I think is hot, but it's not like it matters. You know what my father is like, I'm sure he's going to make all these strict rules about me not dating the talent."

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. "That's true your father's a control freak, he would totally put you in a situation like that and then suck away the only fun part. Still, tell us about this guy, the one you think is hot."

"Yeah, come on, inquiring minds want to know." Rachel echoed.

Stephanie shrugged. "There's not a lot to tell, we've never actually met, I've just seen him around. His name is Hunter Hearst Helmsley, he's actually a real jerk and my father hates him, but he's really hot."

"Hot is good." Savannah encouraged. "How hot are we talking?"

Stephanie paused at the waiter came to deliver another tray of drinks, all shots, to the table and just as she was about to speak, she caught sight of a figure across the bar and stopped, her eyes widening.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked, followed her gaze. She whistled. "Whoa baby..."

"Yeah." Stephanie agreed, her eyes still glued to the blonde man. "That's Hunter."

"_That's_ the man you've been talking about?" Rachel asked, casting a look in Hunter's direction. "Ok, call me a convert, I now see the appeal of working for your father. Wowza."

Stephanie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but what's _he _doing here?"

"Who cares?" Savannah asked her. "Take it as the gift that it is, go over there and get him girl."

"I can't..." Stephanie said nervously. "My father..."

"Isn't here." Elizabeth said dryly. "Which we're all grateful for since he brings out the boring, good girl side of you and we bring out the fun side."

Stephanie had to laugh, it was true and it was the reason her father didn't particularly care for any of her friends--Vince saw the girls as bad influences on Stephanie.

"Your father would have a heart attack if he could see you right now." Savannah added with a grin.

Stephanie laughed, silently agreeing with her friend's assessment. Normally, Stephanie dressed in a very conservative manner, the way her father preferred, keeping in with her role as Daddy's little girl. However, when she was with the girls, she liked to show off her wild side a little. She wouldn't say she was dressed slutty, though if her father could see her, he might say otherwise. But she was definitely dressed more daring than usual, that was for sure.

"Go up to him." Rachel encouraged.

"He won't even know who I am." Stephanie protested. "I'll just be some strange girl to him."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Elizabeth asked softly. "He won't see you as Vince McMahon's little girl, but as Stephanie, the beautiful, sexy woman you hardly ever have a chance to be."

Stephanie blushed at her friend's word. It was true that she usually hid her wild side, but she didn't think she was _that _bad. "Do you really think I should go up to him?" She asked, eyeing the handsome blonde wrestler.

A part of her was really tempted by idea, one last act of rebellion before she joined her father's company and had to play by his rules. She noticed that Hunter was with some of his DX buddies, but that Chyna was nowhere in sight. She wasn't sure what the story was between them, Shane was sure they were sleeping together but he didn't think it was anything more serious than that. Either way Stephanie didn't really care, tonight consequences didn't matter.

"Go for it girlfriend!" Savannah encouraged.

Elizabeth pushed two of the shots towards her, "for courage."

Stephanie downed them both and then stood up. "Here goes nothing." She murmured, plastering a smile on her face and sauntering over to Hunter and his crew. "Hi there handsome," she said in her sultriest voice.

She felt ridiculous, like a little girl pretending to be a grown up, but the admiring looks she got as the men turned to look at her told her that they didn't see her that way. In fact, it was pretty obvious that they liked what they saw.

Stephanie willed herself to ignore the others on concentrate on Hunger. She placed one manicured hand on his shoulder and smiled up at him, batting her eyes. "Any chance you want to buy me a drink?" She asked coyly.

She could barely believe that she was doing this. It was so unlike her, she felt like a bit of a slut, blatantly coming on to a total stranger. Yet, it was also kind of exhilarating to act so out of character.

In a few days, Hunter would know who she was and he'd stay clear of her, not wanting to mess with the boss' daughter, just like all the others, so this was pretty much her only chance to live her fantasy. Even if it wasn't her last chance, this way she'd know that he wasn't with her to advance his career or piss off her father, but because he was honestly attracted to her.

"Sure." Hunter said after a moment, giving her a long slow smile. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and nodded to the others. "I'm gonna take the pretty lady to the bar to get her drunk, I'll catch up with you guys later."

Stephanie knew that he was signalling to his friends that he planned on getting laid and thus wouldn't be leaving with them. She knew she should probably be offended that he thought of her as an easy mark, but that's what she was tonight. Just a sexy girl in a bar picking up a total stranger for a night of guilt-free sex.

From the corner of her eye, she could see the girls giving her the thumbs up and knew her friends weren't expecting her to leave with them tonight, either. Stephanie had to fight to keep her nerves under control at the idea of going home with Hunter. One night stands weren't her usual style, tonight would be her first.

Yes, this wasn't a typical one-night stand, because she knew a lot about Hunter even if he knew nothing about her, but she didn't actually _know _him. Sure he was hot, but she didn't do this, she didn't pick up men in bars!

Yet... The idea was strangely appealing and despite herself, she really wanted to do this. It wasn't just because she was attracted to Hunter, though that was certainly factor, but because it was so out of character.

Elizabeth was right, this was a chance at being someone other than Daddy's little girl and she was going to take it and run with it. She was going to explore all of her options and enjoy every moment of it.

"What can I get you to drink?" Hunter asked when they made their way to the bar.

"Rye and ginger." Stephanie told him, knowing she couldn't handle another shot. She wasn't drunk, but it wouldn't take much to get her there and she wanted to know that if she made this decision, she did it because it was what she wanted, not because she'd had too much to drink.

Hunter nodded and placed the order, while getting himself another beer. "I guess I should introduce myself." He said a moment later, handing her her drink. "I'm Hunter."

"I'm Steph." Stephanie said with a smile, hoping that her name didn't ring any bells, though she doubted it would since it was a common name and she didn't look a lot like the old picture Vince carried with him.

It seemed she was safe, because there was no recognition on his face, just the same sexy smile. "Well, Steph, do you come here often?" Hunter asked, motioning to the bar.

"No." She told him, shaking her head. "I grew up around here, but I went away for college. What about you?"

"No, I travel a lot, for work." Hunter said, taking a sip of his beer. "I don't get back to any place too often, you know how it is."

"I do." Stephanie agreed, hiding her smile. She knew better than he could have guessed, but she had to admire his subtle way of letting her know whatever happened it was just going to be a one night stand. She gulped back her drink in one large swallow.

"You know, I'm not really one for small talk." She said, putting her empty glass on the bar. She put her hand on his arm and offered him a seductive smile. "You want to get our of here, go somewhere a little more private?"

She could barely the words that were coming out of her mouth, but really what was the point in beating around the bush? They both knew where this was heading, so why pretend otherwise. It wasn't like her to be so bold, but that was kind of the point. For one night she wanted to be someone else, someone other than Daddy's perfect little princess who never did anything wrong.

Maybe it was stupid, after all she knew nothing was going to come out of this except sex and she knew it was very likely going to come back and haunt her since she and Hunter had to work together, but she'd deal with that when she came to it.

Right now she just wanted the one night of being the sexy girl in the bar, going home with the gorgeous guy who caught her eye, consequences be damned.

Hunter grinned and quickly downed his beer. "Sounds good to me." He said with a sexy smile, wrapping his arm around her. He pulled her close and kissed her deeply.

Stephanie melted into him, losing herself in the kiss. All her doubts flew out of her mind as their mouths met. She was still positive that this was a stupid decision and that she'd regret it later, but she also knew that it was going to be one Hell of a night...

"Let's blow this joint." Hunter said when he finally broke the kiss.

Stephanie just melted against him and let him lead her out of the bar, adrenaline rushing through her. For the first time in years she was acting without carefully thinking everything through first and it was an exhilarating feeling. She could get used to this, that was for sure...

* * *


End file.
